Matthew Graves joins the Purple Aces staff after a 5-year stint as the head coach at the University of South Alabama. In his stint with the Jaguars, he changed the culture of the program, resulting in the best GPA for the program in five years in just his first season as head coach. Over his first three campaigns at USA, Graves saw them improve their win total each season.
Graves directed Augustine Rubit to the school and Sun Belt Conference records in rebounding while becoming the first USA player to earn All-Sun Belt recognition on four occasions. His second season saw the program earn its first conference tournament win in three seasons.
Prior to his time with the Jaguars, Graves spent 17 years at Butler University as a student-athlete and coach. In 2001, he joined Todd Lickliter’s BU staff as coordinator of basketball operations. After two seasons, he was promoted to an assistant coach before being named the associate head coach in 2010 by Brad Stevens.
With Graves on staff, the Bulldogs made a national tournament in each of his last eight seasons along with eight seasons in a row with 20+ victories. His coaching career at Butler was highlighted by a pair of appearances in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game in 2010 and 2011.
As a student-athlete at Butler, Graves was a member of the 1997 team that made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 35 years. He was the team MVP as he led the Horizon League in free throw shooting while earning a nod on the All-Tournament Team with his 18-point performance in the championship game. Off the court, he was named to the GTE Academic All-District V Team while garnering an academic all-league selection.
